Synopsis of Week’s Training:Oh, what a sweet week of consistent training and restoration of my joie de vivre. I didn’t get in the mega-mileage I had planned if I headed out to the mountains (which I did), but I am one week closer to regaining my fitness. Read on for more details regarding my training last week.

Monday I slept in and never made it out to run after watching my first Phillies game at Nationals Park. That gave me 4 out of 8 days off following my 38 days streak. Sounds like a good recovery period to me. Tuesday I ran to Woodley Park and WUSed with Keith and Sean – they could pound me despite both having just rocked the Massanutten 100.

WUSsies running in Rock Creek Park

Wednesday morning I awoke to another run with Wardian et al. This week was a bit slower pace. On Thursday, I continued my streak of track workouts. Again I ran 4 consecutive miles, this time in 6:09, 6:06, 6:02, 5:49. I largely felt in control and enjoyed the faster miles. On Friday I took Wardian down to Potomac Overlook Park to show him around the trails.

What can’t a good sunset fix?

The long weekend allowed me the chance to finally take full advantage of my uncle’s cabin in the Shenandoahs. My plans for a 20+ mile exploratory run on the AT or Dickey Ridge Trail went kaput when my recon mission brought me down to Rt 55. Never run on Rt 55. In case you were wondering, there is no shoulder and LOTS of traffic on Memorial Day weekend! Despite cutting my run to 8 miles, I got in a good workout on the 900′ road climb in the final 2 miles. Sunday, I kept things simple with leisurely 2 hour, 10 mile run via an out and back on the Dickey Ridge Trail. I think the gradual incline of Dickey Ridge will great hill training for the TransRockies Run.

Elevation profile of northernmost 5 miles of the Dickey Ridge Trail, Shenandaoh NP

Upcoming Training Goals:More of the same. Edge up into the 60s or even 70 miles per week over the coming weeks. Keep at the weekly speed session – try to keep HR lower and lengthen workout rather than running any faster. Try to build up long runs.

Related articles:

The Week of May 5-11, 2008 After a long break, I hope to start posting weekly training updates for the foreseeable future. I had stopped when my training took a serious downturn in early March and...

The Week of May 12-18, 2008 Synopsis of Week’s Training:This week’s running did not turn out exactly as planned, but the deviations were probably for the better and it was a great week nonetheless. Read on...

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2496 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.irunfar.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fweek-of-may-19-25-2008.htmlThe+Week+of+May+19-25%2C+20082008-05-30+02%3A13%3A00Bryon+Powellhttp%3A%2F%2Firunfar.com%2Fthe-week-of-may-19-25-2008.php to “The Week of May 19-25, 2008”

Sounds like you combined a solid week of training with some nice vacation time. Well done. I'm off to Canada for a bit of R & R myself….all fishing and little to no running for 6 days ! Catch you later.

Thanks, all. Training continues to go well, even if it is to the detriment of my blogging. Crowther,Wardian and I talk Western States and trail running every time we run together. While he needs to hold back early to have his best race, I hope he doesn't do that by braking on the downhills. I'll always remember having to walk down to No Hands Bridge at my first WS… even though I was able to run up Robie Point later down the course!